Posted on October 6, 2019 By Dave Duncan
Optoma UHL55 4K UHD Home Entertainment LED Projector Review – Summary: Summary, Pros, Cons
The Optoma UHL55 is a good 4k LED projector. Priced at $999, we should all own one. Did I mention they have set a fairly high bar for the warranty. 2 years or 20,000 hours, whichever comes first. That’s impressive. This is the projector you are looking for to have out by the pool on a summer night. Perhaps you want a giant image on the patio for SuperBowl? Whatever the case may be, the UHL55 is a performer. 1500 ANSI Lumens and a 250,000:1 contrast ratio delivers brightness and details in dark scenes you will enjoy time and time again. They also allow it to project in a variety of situations. With a 30,000 hour LED light source, it will give you years of viewing pleasure.
Not only does the UHL55 perform but it has so many settings and features. You can tune the image to your liking, and even have a professional tailor your install to ISF Day / Night presets for the ultimate in cinematic accuracy. I was very pleased with how great the UHL55 looked out of the box in Cinema mode. LED projectors have a tendency to have super-saturated colors and that sometimes carries over into the skin tones and bleeds into other secondary colors.
The UHL55 looks great. The skin tones are even, no red noses or bright red ears. The only red lips had lipstick and were made to be that way. I really was surprised by the overall quality of the image.
The Speakers put out great sound. They even support Dolby Digital Decoding, which if you use a fire stick or Amazon FireTV, that is great to know, because you won’t have to fiddle with your audio settings and shut if off. The 2 8W speakers to a great job filling the area with sound to complement the TV.
When it comes to connectivity, there is no shortage their either. You have 2 HDMI 2.0 ports so you can connect your favorite streaming device and your receiver. 2 USBA ports to choose from, 2.0 and 3.0, both will be read by the internal media player. Built-in Bluetooth and Wireless. Those are two features you just don’t find on other projectors. The bluetooth remote was a joy to use. Being able to connect it wirelessly was great. I was even able to update the projector’s firmware all over the network.
You won’t find a directly competing projector on the market today. Not with the performance of the Optoma UHL55 and not at the price of $999. The brightness, contrast, performance, connectivity, and features. Really put this projector in a class of its own. It is the only projector on the market that I have seen that has an android system as part of the projector, not an afterthought. It also plays 4k content, reads documents and so much more.
Optoma UHL55 vs aaxa 4K mini
The aaxa 4k UHD mini projector is a close rival to the Optoma UHL55. Here we have 2 projectors that are both at the same price point $999. They are both 4K, DLP and LED. That is where the similarities tend to fade.
The Optoma UHL55 4K has an integrated sound system. Its case size is a little taller and there are 2 8W speakers inside. These two speakers along with their Dolby Digital decoding sound really good. The sound quality allows the UHL55 to be an all in one projector. Delivering a good image and sound to accompany it.
When we look to the aaxa 4k, the speakers fell short. There was no digital decoding in the projector, which caused me to have to change the audio settings in some of my devices. The speakers were not loud enough to overcome the fan noise from the aaxa 4k.
While on the Optoma UHL55, the fan noise was very minimal, which allowed the speakers to sound great. Even when in bright mode.
Both projectors also have an integrated Android operating system with a media player. The aaxa 4K mini did a good job of integrating the android and the projector controls together.
There were a few instances where I felt it took way too many clicks to get where I needed to be. The Optoma UHL55 did a good job as well. The android system was part of the projector, it didn’t seem like an afterthought.
The Optoma UHL55 did a couple things much more elegantly. The integrated media player supported 4K, which is what you should expect with a 4K projector right? However, as referenced in our review of the aaxa 4K mini, the integrated media player only supported 1080p.
One spot where the aaxa 4K mini projector is on top is the size. While Optoma offers a carrying handle and a case. The aaxa 4k is much smaller. Take note, of the other differences I have identified. If you want great sound wherever you are going. The UHL55 is a clear winner.
To wrap it up between these two 4K projectors, one of the important areas of home projection is the contrast ratio. You want to be able to see those details in dark scenes and on black objects. This is where the Optoma UHL55 really shines. I think Optoma put a lot of their high end know how into the UHL55. With a 250,000:1 contrast ratio it really surpassed the 2000:1 of the aaxa 4k.
There are a lot of other brands of projectors out on the market for home entertainment. The Optoma UHL55 is definietly one of the front runners for image quality and audio. Delivering a good 4K image with nice balanced colors all the while having the ability to fill the room with sound. Really a great all in one package.
One thing to make sure you are aware of, is the lens. While mentioning it a few times in the review, there is no zoom on the Optoma UHL55. As it has a fixed lens, you have to mount the projector according to the screen size you are looking for. I just wanted to note that one more time.
At the end of the day, if those are the only CONS I noticed, then the Optoma UHL55 is worth a serious look for your entertainment needs. It’s a very nice projector and complete all in one solution you can take to enjoy anywhere.
Thank you for reading the review, make sure and check out all the other great content as you evaluate your choices and the many projectors on the market.
© 2021 Projector Reviews
